Mahaska County in Iowa
Mahaska County in Iowa
 
Oskaloosa in Mahaska CountyOskaloosa in Mahaska County

Lloyd John Patrick

Homicide

Lloyd John Patrick
85 YOA
DCI Case # 82-05758
Rural Route 5
Oskaloosa, IA
Mahaska County
October 27, 1982

 
On Wednesday, Oct. 27, 1982, retired Oskaloosa farmer Lloyd John Patrick, 85, was murdered in his rural Mahaska County home before someone set the house ablaze.

Patrick was shot to death early on Wednesday before his house was set on fire, presumably by his assailant, said Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Chief Gerald Shanahan in an announcement on Friday, Oct. 29, 1982.

Gerald Shanahan (Courtesy Iowa Department of Public Safety)

DCI Chief Gerald Shanahan (Courtesy Iowa Department of Public Safety)

The DCI and the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Department investigated the incident. The fire investigation was conducted by the State Fire Marshal’s office and the Oskaloosa Fire Department, according to Oskaloosa Fire Chief Willard Ellis.

Both the Oskaloosa and Eddyville Fire Departments responded to the fire call, the Eddyville Tribune reported Nov. 4, 1982.

Authorities would not say where Patrick was shot or what kind of firearm was used.

Shanahan said a motive for the killing hadn’t been established, nor had officials determined how the fire at the ranch-style home started.

At a news conference held Friday, Nov. 5, 1982, Mahaska County Sheriff Joe Beal appealed to the public to help solve Patrick’s murder. Beal also said a vehicle was seen in Patrick’s neighborhood between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. the night of the shooting.

According to a 2009 report by the DCI’s former Cold Case Unit, an autopsy revealed Patrick died from gunshot wounds and not injuries sustained during the fire.

Six years before the fire, the Iowa Department of Agriculture recognized the farm of Lloyd John Patrick as a “century farm,” the Eddyville Tribune reported on Aug. 12, 1976.

“This family has owned and been the steward of this Iowa farm for over 100 years,” wrote reporter Ina Eveland.

1982-11-6-CRG-Sat-lloyd-patrick

Courtesy The Gazette, Nov. 6, 1982

When the DCI established the Cold Case Unit in 2009, Lloyd Patrick’s murder was one of approximately 150 cases listed on the Cold Case Unit’s new website as those the DCI hoped to solve using latest advancements in DNA technology.

Although federal grant funding for the DCI Cold Case Unit was exhausted in December 2011, the DCI continues to assign agents to investigate cold cases as new leads develop or as technological advances allow for additional forensic testing of original evidence.

The DCI remains committed to resolving Iowa’s cold cases and will continue to work diligently with local law enforcement partners to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice for the victims and their families.

About Lloyd Patrick

Lloyd John Patrick was born June 17, 1897, in Beacon, Mahaska County, Iowa, to Norman Patrick and Elizabeth Visser.

He married Jeanette Esther Denburger on October 15, 1924. She died on Feb. 10, 1972, having spent the last 16 years of her life as an invalid since being badly burned in a March 9, 1956 home fire that required multiple skin grafts at University of Iowa Hospital.

Lloyd was survived by one daughter, Betty Francine Patrick DeBruin (1927-2011) and one son, Glenn Lloyd Patrick (1934-2014), three grandchildren and one great-grandson.

Funeral services were held Saturday, Oct. 30, 1982, at 10:30 a.m. in the Garland-Van Arkel Funeral Chapel with Ervin Voogd of the Central Reformed Church officiating. Burial was at the Forest Cemetery.

Memorials were to be designated to the Eddyville Volunteer Fire Department.

Information Needed

If you have any information about Lloyd Patrick’s unsolved murder, please contact the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 673-4322 or email sheriff@mahaskacounty.org, or contact the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation at (515) 725-6010 or email dciinfo@dps.state.ia.us.

Sources:
  • Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, former Cold Case Unit, December 13, 2009
  • Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office
  • Person Details for Lloyd Patrick, “United States Social Security Death Index” — FamilySearch.org
  • Find a Grave Memorial for Lloyd John Patrick
  • “United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918”, index and images, FamilySearch, Lloyd John Patrick, 1917-1918.
  • “Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934,” index, FamilySearch, Lloyd J Patrick and Jeannette E Den Berger, 08 Oct 1925; citing Mahaska, Iowa, United States; FHL microfilm 1787319.
  • “Iowa, County Births, 1880-1935”, index, FamilySearch, Lloyd John Patrick in entry for Betty Francine Patrick, 1927.
  • “Authorities ask public help in murder case,” The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Saturday, November 6, 1982
  • “Death ruled homicide,” The Eddyville Tribune, Thursday, November 4, 1982, Page 1
  • “Obituaries: Lloyd John Patrick,” The Eddyville Tribune, Thursday, November 4, 1982, Page 2
  • “Autopsy finds man murdered before fire,” The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Sunday, October 31, 1982
  • The Waterloo Courier, Thursday, October 28, 1982
  • The Oelwein Daily Register, Thursday, October 28, 1982
  • “Fire related death,” The Eddyville Tribune, Thursday, October 28, 1982, Page 1
  • Lloyd J. Patrick, by Janis O’Malley, Pedigree Resource File
  • “Coal Creek,” by Ina Eveland, The Eddyville Tribune, Thursday, August 12, 1976, Page 4
  • “Death,” The Eddyville Tribune, Thursday, February 17, 1972, Page 1

 

11 Responses to Lloyd Patrick

  1. Dena Gray-Fisher says:

    Corrections to “About Lloyd Patrick” section: Lloyd and Jeannette had two children; Betty Francine Patrick DeBruin (1927-2011) and Glenn Lloyd Patrick (1934-2014). Lloyd was born at Beacon, Mahaska county, Iowa.

  2. Patrick Kerrigan says:

    It’ nice that the people who posted on here, know what supposedly happened. Law enforcement should be monitoring this page. All, they would need was to fill in the details, and file charges.

    • Ashley Bunting says:

      There is no proof. The family of the slain hired a detective, and the family of the accused sued for defamation, or something like that if I remember correctly. The bottom line was, there was no proof. Only heresay.

      • Chris says:

        I had heard that DCI has parts of the house and items that were taken at the time. I suppose it’s been too long to find DNA. Terrible tragedy.

  3. Ashley Van Zee says:

    I grew up in the big yellow house his son lived in at the time of the murder… just down River Road. The story I was always told was these guys were looking for the son’s cash stash and when they couldn’t find it or him, they went to the fathers house to demand he go get it. Well, the rest you know.

  4. Diana Wilson says:

    Fire is terrible. I know he was dead but…. I know there’s cremation…..I know you don’t feel anything…

  5. Lorrie says:

    If people knew about this why didn’t they speak up before now, I don’t understand it, wouldn’t you want to know who killed a loved one ?

  6. Sue Herman says:

    This one really made locals angry when a few men bragged about doing this. No one ever knew of they were questioned. One of them has a kid who says his dad did it. A lot of locals just assume this guy did it. Unfortunately, he just died a few months ago, but they could still question his wife at the time, his friends, people who worked with him at Clow, etc. Does law enforcement ever check sites like this and follow up? His name was Greg Roberts.If you bring it up in some circles, they just refer to him as the guy who killed the old man down by the river.

    • Chris says:

      Greg was also being sought at the time for drug issues. There were officers involved. And I know a couple people that were never interviewed. But I wouldn’t be so set on the fact that Greg Roberts did it. Just saying….

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